Retirement plan sponsors tend to be reactive rather than pro-active. They would rather not spend money to undergo a plan review and assume everything is fine until they run into a big compliance issue or mistakes are discovered on a…more

On 18 November 2016, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) published interim findings from its year-long study of the country’s asset management sector—concluding that price competition is weak in several areas, and highlighting…more

The 21st Century Cures Act encourages biomedical research investment and facilitates innovation review and approval processes, but also serves as a vehicle for a wide variety of other health-related measures, including changes…more

September 16, 2016, marked the fourth anniversary of the effective date for the invalidity proceedings before the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB or Board) created by the America Invents Act (AIA). These new AIA proceedings…more

The long awaited final draft of the Gender Pay Gap Regulations was published on 6th December 2016. The Regulations are scheduled to come into force on 6th April 2017. This OnPoint summarises the provisions of the Regulations and…more

While no one knows for sure what the future holds for investment management regulation, the tea leaves indicate that we may expect a slowdown on new regulations, some pullback on parts of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer…more

The New York Commercial Division is poised to continue its rules revamp, with six new rules proposals announced since October. While these proposals would not alter practice before the Commercial Division in the same manner that the…more

Seyfarth Synopsis: On November 30, 2016, The Delaware Court of Chancery dismissed two derivative suits filed on behalf of the Bank of New York Mellon (“BNYM”). The companion memorandum and letter opinions reaffirm the heavy burden a…more

The Securities and Exchange Commission's (the "SEC" or "Commission") Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations ("OCIE") issued a risk alert on October 24, 2016, announcing that it will be reviewing registrants' compliance with…more

On December 6, 2016, the U.S. Supreme Court in Salman v. United States unanimously held that an insider's gift of confidential information to a "trading relative or friend" is sufficient to establish the personal benefit to the tipper…more

A unanimous US Supreme Court held that for purposes of determining damages for design patent infringement under 35 U.S.C. §289, the relevant “article of manufacture” may include either the end product sold to the consumer or simply a…more

New legislation includes a broad regulatory exemption for medical software.
On December 7, the US Senate passed the 21st Century Cures Act and sent it to President Barack Obama, who has promised to sign it. This new legislation…more

Although Germany has tended to advocate relatively strict data protection laws, a recently released draft law could call into question the extent to which Germany will protect privacy rights in the future. The stated purpose of the…more

In Depth -
On December 7, 2016, the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) of the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a policy statement increasing its thresholds for gifts that are considered “nominal” for…more

As previously noted in this space, two small but significant changes from United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) are coming in the next month. First, on December 23, 2016, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)…more

Companies operating in Asia should take heed of five areas the US president-elect has said he will act on in his first 100 days, which could provide potential opportunities and challenges for Asian businesses—including the future of…more

On December 8, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals granted the U.S. Department of Labor’s motion seeking an expedited briefing schedule on its appeal of the district court injunction of the overtime rule that was scheduled to take…more

In 2016, California passed a slew of labor and employment laws affecting businesses across the state and their personnel policies and practices. Below is a brief summary of many of these laws, which generally take effect on January 1…more

After the announcement of Fidel Castro’s death on November 26, 2016, President Barack Obama sent a message to the Cuban people highlighting his administration’s efforts to improve relations between the United States and Cuba. “History…more

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit issued a per curiam opinion in De Jongh v. State Farm Lloyds, 2016 U.S. App. LEXIS 21432 (5th Cir. 2016) that clarified a typical but potentially tricky question involving property…more

On November 30, 2016, the House of Representatives passed the 21st Century Cures Act, a bill intended to modernize health care delivery and speed up and improve medical research and innovations by removing bureaucratic obstacles. If…more

Numerous decisions from the Delaware courts establish that a company cannot abandon its promise to advance legal fees and expenses when the covered director, officer, or employee properly invokes it…more

Existing on-site water recycling requirements for toilets, urinals and landscaping have applied to buildings of 250,000 gross square feet or larger in the Reclaimed Water Use Map (the “Map”) area since November 2015. The Map generally…more

Under controversial new rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission, consumers may choose how internet service providers use and share their personal data. The FCC adopted the rules, which apply regardless of whether…more

On December 6, 2016, the House passed the Expanding Capacity for Health Outcomes Act (S. 2873) (the ECHO Act), which was unanimously passed by the Senate on November 29, 2016. The ECHO Act seeks to expand the use of health care…more

The Sixth Circuit this week declined the SEC’s request to dismiss a Constitutional challenge to the new MSRB pay-to-play rules. Instead, the Court ordered the case to a merits panel for consideration. The Republican parties of…more

On December 1, 2016, the Supreme Court of California held that the duty of employers and premises owners to exercise ordinary care in their use of asbestos in their businesses includes a duty to take reasonable care to prevent…more

On December 2, 2016, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) published its Report and Order entitled “Protecting the Privacy of Customers of Broadband and Other Telecommunications Services” (the “Order”) as a final rule in the…more

Just as blockchain technology has allowed for the tracking and authentication of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency transactions, it could similarly mediate transactions in energy units.
Blockchain technology — once known only as…more

Proper year-end planning can help alleviate any unnecessary tax burden. While little happened in the way of tax legislation in 2016, there are certain tax breaks from which you may benefit and certain strategies that can be employed to…more

On December 6th, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down its first major decision on insider trading in over 20 years, and affirmed the conviction of Bassam Salman for violations of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and…more

Employers who require all employees to sign a form non-competition agreement regardless of the state in which the employee is located or the type of work performed by the employee should think twice before doing so. Recent legislation…more

California recently amended its existing law governing inquiries into and the use of juvenile criminal information. Effective January 1, 2017 employers will be restricted from asking about, seeking, or using a California…more

On Tuesday, December 6, Governor Charlie Baker, under his Section 9C authority, ordered $98 million in mid-year cuts from the $39.25 billion FY17 state budget. The administration has warned of budget imbalances for months and this…more

Dexcel filed a motion to compel contending that Takeda has refused to provide any fact discovery concerning Takeda's methods for particle size analysis used in prior litigations or underlying the data in the patents-in-suit. Dexcel…more

California’s 2016 legislative session ended, once again, with a flurry of activity in the legislature and by Governor Jerry Brown, resulting in numerous new laws requiring employer action. The end-of-session bills were not the only…more

With Fitch and DBRS [by most measures, the #3 and #4 rating agencies in a 3-player game] doling out AAA ratings for bonds backed by non-qualified mortgages that Moody’s has dubbed “risky.” Well worth keeping an eye on this trend…more

The U.S. Supreme Court has clarified what constitutes illegal insider trading by making it easier for the government to bring such cases. In a Dec. 6, 2016, unanimous decision in Salman v. United States, the court held that when an…more

On November 7, 2016, the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s Congress promulgated the Cybersecurity Law of the People’s Republic of China, a law James Zimmerman, chairman of the American Chamber of Commerce in China calls…more

I have written a number of posts, on employers and business owners who have been held responsible for the multiemployer plan withdrawal liability of a different employer. In some cases, the liability comes from common ownership. In…more

As we come to the end of 2016 we re ect on a year characterised by events that have sent political shockwaves through the world’s major markets and consider what this may mean for the coming year.
The surprise may be just how…more

On December 5, 2016, SEC Chief Accountant Wesley R. Bricker, speaking at the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants Conference in Washington, D.C., emphasized the importance of high quality financial reporting to the U.S…more

As Sponsors of MIT’s Energy Venture Alumni Event, celebrating the past 10 years, Mintz Levin’s attorneys are taking this opportunity to countdown the top 10 moments in energy which they feel impacted the industry and their practice…more

On October 19, 2016, the Eighth Circuit issued one of the first post-Escobar opinions addressing materiality under the False Claims Act (“FCA”). In United States ex rel. Miller v. Weston Educational, Inc, No. 14-1760, 2016 WL 6091099…more